Wollongong Hawks 77-79 NZ Breakers

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Oh, dear God, that was close! The Breakers snapped their two game loss streak with a solid win on the road, despite a furious late comeback from Wollongong.

The Breakers altered their approach a little for this one after two games with some awful shooting. As Vickerman said, they limited the playbook. Good, it worked. They started red hot with some slick finishing and a few Rhys Carter trebles. Corey Webster, Uncle Kenny Ibekwe, Alex Pledger and Mika Vukona all burying some nice buckets. That on the back of some relentless (though risky) defensive hustling and it was 28-21 after the first quarter. The fouls weren’t there, though they left some open shots out there for Wollongong.

There was rhythm on offence. It was marvellous to behold after the last couple games. It seemed like they stopped trying to punch things in the paint or stick with specific set plays. Instead there was some invention. Some of that came from the early steals they grabbed and attacking in transition. The Hawks shot pretty poorly but the Breakers failed to put them away and then things started to dry up.

The third quarter was the problem against Cairns but here the Breakers came out with more purpose. Webster and Abercrombie hit some threes, Pledger went to work and his team went into the fourth with a lead of 13. Gary Ervin had left the game with a hand injury for the Hawks, but Jahii Carson stepped up. He finished with a game high 24, almost getting his team an unlikely comeback. A Corey Webster dagger with four minutes looked to kill things but in the end it took free throws just to cling to the win. Webster missed a couple late to supply a few Sunday arvo coronaries before the stuttering clock finally ticked over to 0:00.

And a valuable win it was, the second in Oz already. Webster had 16, Jackson 14, Pledger and Wesley 10 each.

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up like Curtis Mayfield:

Corey Webster was more clinical, getting 32 minutes on the court too. He’s definitely a guy a coach will ride with when he’s on. Tai Wesley did very well too, 10 points & 4 rebounds. He won’t be able to pad the stats every game, but when he’s good, he’s very good. This team has plenty of options and if Dean Vickerman can balance things, they’ll be able to beat teams in quite a few different ways.

Goin’ Down Slow like Howlin’ Wolf:

Cedric Jackson shot 5-15 from the field, and missed 5 of his 8 free throws. He’s too good for this to be a concern, though his free throw shooting is starting to force some seat shuffling from NZB fans. Also, what happened to Tom Abercrombie scoring 15-20 every game? I hope we see that kind of dominance again soon, he’s got a lovely jump shot.

Key Stat:

46% from the field, 50% from three. Much better. Webster hit 7-13, Pledger 5-6 and Wesley 3-4.

Play of the Game

The Breakers top off a 28 point first quarter with this lovely alley oop. Cedric slides through the defence and pops this one up for Uncle Kenny Ibekwe to finish at the rim.

Match MVP Points

Corey Webster – 3

Tai Wesley – 2

Alex Pledger – 1

Tom Abercrombie – 1

Season MVP Standings

Corey Webster – 9

Rhys Carter – 5

Cedric Jackson – 4

Tai Wesley – 4

Up Next

Friday, 7.30pm: NZ Breakers vs Townsville Crocs, Vector Arena (NZT)